It’s probably safe to say that most cigar enthusiasts are weary of, and perhaps turned off by, the so-called “house brands” of many large stogie companies. Whether it’s the ultra-low prices, the cheesy packaging, or their gimmicky sales pitches (Read any cigar catalog and every house brand "compares favorably to ultra premium cigars that cost three or four times as much!").  Let’s face it – these sticks frequently get a bad rap.

And often deservingly so. But wouldn’t it be nice to cut through all the crap to find at least one cheap major house brand that’s very smokable? Well, you may not have to look any further than the Corojo Cubano Robusto by Thompson Cigar.

No, we’re not pulling your leg. And we’re certainly not going to tell you that one of these sticks is comparable in taste or physical attributes to a well-constructed premium cigar. But, honestly, this really isn’t a bad smoke.

The five inches by 50 ring gauge Robustos are composed of Dominican binders and fillers, wrapped in rich aning gold and red bands are a nice contrast to the wrapper, albeit a tad hokey. Despite a couple large veins, we couldn’t find any serious physical defects on our sticks.

Once lit, the cigar produced an earthy taste with heavy notes of leather, coffee, and a little mocha. The second and finishing phases yielded more spice and graham. This is certainly not what you’d call a complex stogie, but it has a fairly enjoyable flavor.

We noticed even burns throughout the hour-plus smoke with a draw that put up some, but not too much, resistance. The only drawback on construction is that the ash would not hold firmly off the foot, even for an inch or so. (We found this out the hard way with a pile of gray flakes in our lap.)

If you go into this smoke with high expectations, you’re going to be disappointed. But at 98 cents apiece (when you buy 50), that’s probably not going to be a problem. If you’re looking for a very cheap way to beef up your humidor stock with satisfactory golf course grade smokes, however, the Thompson Cubano Corojo Robusto wouldn’t be a bad choice.

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